Panel recommends FDA approval of epilepsy drug derived from marijuana

Panel recommends FDA approval of epilepsy drug derived from marijuana

By ANDREW JOSEPH @DrewQJoseph

APRIL 19, 2018

An expert panel on Thursday unanimously recommended that the Food and Drug Administration approve a new medicine for two rare and devastating forms of epilepsy, paving the way for the authorization of what would be the country’s first medication made from marijuana.

The 13-0 vote from the FDA advisory committee is not binding, and the agency is expected to announce its decision by the end of June. But in documents this week, FDA officials wrote they supported the approval of the drug, Epidiolex, after concluding that it cut the number of seizures in patients in clinical trials.

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